Morphology can be an important property in particle-related applications. For example, morphology may be a factor in aerosol synthesis, which can be used for bulk production of nanomaterials, such as in—1) pharmaceuticals synthesis and processing, where the ability to control the size and state of agglomerates can influence their behavior in the human body; 2) synthesis of printer toners, tires, paints, fillers, and fiber-optics products, where nanopowders morphology uniformity can influence product quality; and 3) carbon nanotube manufacturing, where uniformly sized and shaped carbon nanotubes may have desirable properties.
When used to produce particles beyond a certain length, aerosol formation mechanisms can produce agglomerates. Agglomerates can have complex, fractal-like morphologies, and particles having the same mass, such as being composed of the same number of individual particles, can have different morphologies, such as being more spherically or more linearly shaped. Segregating agglomerate ensembles based on their morphology can be difficult; there is no well-established technique.